Blend Network’s company losses widen while its lending rises
Blend Network’s company losses widened by £381,057 over the course of the past year as the platform reinvested in the business, while its lending is up by 200 per cent so far in 2020 compared to 2019.
The peer-to-peer property lending platform’s results, filed on Companies House, showed the lender’s losses rose to £462,462 in the year to 30 June 2020, up from £81,405 in the same period last year.
Chief executive Yann Murciano put this down to reinvestment to win market share.
He added that so far this year Blend Network has funded 24 loans, up from 16 over the full 2019.
Read more: Blend Network raises maximum LTGDV
“Over the past couple of years, we have been heavily investing in the business,” said Murciano.
“This has clearly paid off because while some other lenders have struggled with their access to capital this year, Blend Network always had access to capital.
“That has allowed us to win market share this year. We have built a strong track record, and it is thanks to this strong track record and thanks to the trust from our lenders that we have had a very strong year. So far, our lending this year is up by 200 per cent compared to last year.
“Despite a volatile market, we have managed the portfolio really well and always gave very strong support to our borrowers.”
Murciano added that the platform is planning to keep investing in the business over the next two years, from origination to platform developments with the ambition to have a strong profitable company.
Read more: Blend Network: Johnson’s “build, build, build” strategy will be “game changer” for housing market
“We want to keep the strong growth next year and keep building the track record,” he said.
“2020 was clearly challenging but the fact that we have demonstrated strong performances on the loans despite the Covid-19 lockdown is making our track record even stronger.
“Some investors were interested to see how Blend Network would perform in a cycle, in a difficult environment and this has been the real black swan.
“Therefore, this has given us the opportunity to demonstrate our strong due diligence and the quality of the loans that we have listed on the platform.”
Read more: Blend Network repays over £2m to lenders